Validity matters more than cheating

Dawson, P; Bearman, M; Dollinger, M; Boud, D

Validity matters more than cheating

Dawson, P Bearman, M Dollinger, M Boud, D

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Publisher:: ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 2024, 49, (7), pp. 1005-1016
Issue Date:: 2024-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Dawson, P
dc.contributor.author	Bearman, M
dc.contributor.author	Dollinger, M
dc.contributor.author	Boud, D https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6883-2722
dc.date.accessioned	2025-06-25T23:12:56Z
dc.date.available	2025-06-25T23:12:56Z
dc.date.issued	2024-01-01
dc.identifier.citation	Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 2024, 49, (7), pp. 1005-1016
dc.identifier.issn	0260-2938
dc.identifier.issn	1469-297X
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/187950
dc.description.abstract	Cheating attracts a significant amount of attention in conversations about assessment, and with good reason: if students cheat, we cannot be sure they have met the learning outcomes of their course. In this conceptual article we question the attention given to cheating as a concept and argue that the broader concept of validity is a more important concern. We begin by questioning what cheating is, why it is wrong, and how justifiable the approaches used to address cheating are. We then propose a reframing of cheating as subsumed by assessment validity. In this view, cheating is addressed without moralising, as part of the broader positive mission of assurance of learning. This perspective highlights how attempts to improve validity by addressing cheating can sometimes make validity worse, for example when an anti-cheating technology reduces cheating but creates problems for inclusion. In shifting focus from cheating to validity, we hope to draw renewed attention to what matters most in assessment: that we know our graduates are capable of what we say they are.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
dc.relation.ispartof	Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1080/02602938.2024.2386662
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	13 Education
dc.subject.classification	Education
dc.subject.classification	39 Education
dc.title	Validity matters more than cheating
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	49
utslib.for	13 Education
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/New Faculty
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2025-06-25T23:12:55Z
pubs.issue	7
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	49
utslib.citation.issue	7

Abstract:

Cheating attracts a significant amount of attention in conversations about assessment, and with good reason: if students cheat, we cannot be sure they have met the learning outcomes of their course. In this conceptual article we question the attention given to cheating as a concept and argue that the broader concept of validity is a more important concern. We begin by questioning what cheating is, why it is wrong, and how justifiable the approaches used to address cheating are. We then propose a reframing of cheating as subsumed by assessment validity. In this view, cheating is addressed without moralising, as part of the broader positive mission of assurance of learning. This perspective highlights how attempts to improve validity by addressing cheating can sometimes make validity worse, for example when an anti-cheating technology reduces cheating but creates problems for inclusion. In shifting focus from cheating to validity, we hope to draw renewed attention to what matters most in assessment: that we know our graduates are capable of what we say they are.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/187950